


Attempts at a Merry Christmas

by Warflower



Category: Cain Saga and Godchild
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cassian is Awesome, Christmas Fluff, Gen, Jizabel POV, Jizabel doesn´t "get" Christmas, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 13:59:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13125168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Warflower/pseuds/Warflower
Summary: Jizabel does not feel like Christmas, Cassian tries everything to change that.





	Attempts at a Merry Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> For Vamp-prince-mikhael, I wish you a merry Christmas and I hope you don´t mind that this turned out way fluffier and less angsty than initially intended.

Jizabel wakes to pain. 

Last night he had tumbled right into bed, too dizzy after the whipping to bother cleaning himself up, now he can feel the dried blood cracking as he stretches, his back and head aching still. 

The light from the window is bright, too bright for it still to be morning. He feels something dribble down his back as he sits up. Rubbing his eyes he looks around. 

Someone is standing in the doorway. 

-Doctor?- Cassian asks.

-What is it?- Jizabel is in no mood to deal with, well, anything really.

-We have some errands to run- he looks rueful -for the Cardmaster.-

Jizabel sighs. Of course. 

-Fine- he says -I assume you know the details?- 

Cassian just nodds and turnes to leave. -I´ll meet you downstairs in half an hour.-

He closes the door softly, which Jizabel´s headache is glad of. 

The water in his pitcher is surprisingly warm, so he takes his time cleaning up. 

Idly he wonders if the heated water is an apology from his father, for the humiliation of the previous night. He dismisses it, Alexis Hargreaves is not the type for apologies. 

The blood is coming off in flakes and soon the water is dyed pink.

Maybe it is supposed to be a Christmas present, those are becoming more and more popular, aren´t they? Ridiculous really, how everybody is falling over themselves imitating the customs of the royals. 

If it was intended a present, then it was hardly one of his father, his present had been the whipping. One more chance to atone for his sins before Christmas Eve.

He doesn´t care inspecting his back, he knows that some of his wounds are still open, he only takes care to select a dark waistcoat for the day, so any stains won´t be as noticable.

 

They are supposed to buy the ingredients of the Christmas dinner the Cardmaster is intend on holding for his Major Arcana. 

I am among the Major Arcana, Jizabel thinks, this dinner is supposed to be for me, why am I still doing the shopping like some meager assistant. 

He had hoped to spent the morning feeding the doves, now he fears they must go hungry. 

-By the way, I fed your birds.- Cassian says. 

Jizabel turns in surprise. 

Cassian´s face is blank. -I got bored waiting for you.-

Jizabel nods, he does not thank him. 

They head to the butcher first. Good, Jizabel thinks, get it out of the way. 

-Shouldn´t we save the meat for last?- He asks -To keep it fresh?-

Cassian shakes his head, -No, it´ll need hours to cook, so we´re sending it back as soon as possible to make sure it arrives in time.-

-Send it back?- Jizabel quirks an eyebrow. It´s not as if they don´t have the money to hire someone as a runner, but as far as he is concerned they are meant to be the runner. That is the point of this. Reminding Jizabel that even if he is now one of the Major Arcana he is still not above being chased around like some errand boy. 

-Yes, we were supposed to head out first thing in the morning and to be back by noon.- Cassian shruggs, then adds -I tried to wake you earlier, but you were out like the dead.-

Jizabel is a light sleeper, but he does not get to dwell on the issue, because they are entering the butcher´s shop and the smell of raw meat hits him like a brick wall. 

He is glad to get this done now. 

After that, there is the grocer, and after the grocer there are Christmas crackers. 

-What are they supposed to do?- Jizabel is eying one of the brightly wrapped implements. 

Cassian´s eyes are playful. -Apperently they make noise and contain sweets- 

-Sweets, like in candy?- Jizabel asks. 

-Don´t you like candy, Doctor?- Cassian sounds vaguely amused. 

Jizabel frowns. Who cares if he likes sweets, they are for children, technically. Jizabel can´t recall eating any even as a child, maybe he had when he was still living with his mother... No. 

He is violently shaken out of the past by the possibly least violent voice in the world, which does not reduce the terror it is invoking in Jizabel.

-Riff! Riff, let´s look at the Christmas crackers!- Rings the happy voice of Merry-Weather Hargreaves. 

Cassian too has gone ridgid. They exchange a panicked glance. Cassian is the first to unfreeze, he grabs Jizabel by the arm and hauls him into a small alcove.

It is a tight fit only made possible by Cassian´s small stature. They hold painfully still, trying not to make a sound. 

London is huge, what wretched luck they must have to run into Cain´s people. He had hoped to spent Christmas Eve without having to think about his brother, but apparently even that is too much to ask. 

He tries to tell himself that this shouldn´t bother him, he is the lucky one who get´s to celebrate Christmas with their father, after all it is marketed as a family holiday, and Cain won´t. But it is an empty triumph, the lash marks on his brothers back are scarred over and healing, while his own are staining his waistcoat even now. 

Wouldn´t it be in their father´s interest, he wonders, to make Cain´s holidays as painful as he did his own?

-Doctor?- Cassian is tugging on his sleeve -The coast is clear.- 

 

They buy their fancily wrapped exploding sweets before fleeing the shop back into the street, where they are immediately assaulted by the sight of laughing children and the sound of Christmas Carols. 

One brat almost hits Jizabel with a snowball, he barely manages to duck in time. The ball hits the beggar sheltering in the entrance of the shop. The girl laughs and runs of, the singers are singing about mercy and the joys of giving. Jizabel hates humans. 

His thoughts must show on his face, because Cassian flees back into the shop under the pretense of having forgotten something to give Jizabel space and time to curse humanity in peace.

They leave the broad cheer of the main road for the network of alleys that will lead them back to the headquarters of Delilah, by now it is well past noon. But even the modest houses of the working class are oozing unfortunate amounts of holiday cheer. 

There are candles on the windowsills and odd branches of questionable decorative value draped over entryways, he can even spot the occasional mistletoe, which he pointedly ignores- Isn´t that a nordic tradition, anyways? 

His Christmas themed annoyance hits a new high point when they enter a courtyard sporting a decorated plane tree. 

The tree´s bare branches are bedecked in ribbons and there is what looks like gingerbread dangling from the twigs.

Jizabel shakes his head at the absurdity of the picture. 

-That´s not even an evergreen.-

Cassian shruggs and smirks -Guess they didn´t have any evergreens. Those are surprisingly hard to find in the city, firs and spruces and such.- 

Jizabel frowns at him. -But a plane tree? Nobody will be able to reach the gingerbread.-

-Maybe it´s not supposed to be eaten-

-What biscuits are not supposed to be eaten?- He asks.

-Those, apparently. And here I thought denying children their sweets would be right up your alley, doctor?- Cassian teases. 

Jizabel snorts.

Grinning now, Cassian continues -And it´s not as if they´re impossible to reach. Here, look.- 

He throws a well aimed knife and a biscuit hits the plaster in front of Jizabel´s feet. He picks it up. 

-If you want a clean one you need to catch it.- Cassian starts chuckling when he sees Jizabel´s face, he is already aiming another knife.

Jizabel catches the next one, and the one after that. When they finally continue their way home he is quietly munching the head of an especially cheerful looking gingerbreadman.

He discovers that while sweets are delicious in small quantities they are sticky and disgusting if eaten in larger amounts. Cassian is openly laughing at him. 

He proposes to give the remaining treats to passing children but Jizabel has already started crumbling up his sticky bisquits. Shall the city birds make a meal of it. 

Night is falling before they make it to the last stop of their little shopping trip, the churches services have already begun and dread is rising in Jizabel´s stomach. He wonders if the High Priest is going to attend the Christmas dinner. Most likely. 

-How many minced pies do we need?- He asks Cassian. 

Cassian shruggs -Half a dozen? Then we´ll be on the save side.-

-You have enough money?-

Cassian looks sheepish. -I don´t. I fear I lost the wallet.-

Jizabel quirks a brow. -You had it when we were buying those exploding sweets.-

-Yeah I did, I guess I was mugged.- 

As if, Jizabel thinks, recalling the beggar in the shop entrance. 

-And how do you suggest we go about acquiring the Cardmaster´s minced pies without money?- 

-Well, I´ll just have to do some mugging of my own.- Cassian says with a nonchalant grin. 

This time Jizabel can´t surpress his smile in time. Making up for generosity with theft is something only Cassian could think of.

 

The dreaded Christmas dinner is less dreadful than previously anticipated. The stolen minced pies turn out to be vegetarian, a fact that Alexis does not seem to realise, so he doesn´t push Jizabel to trie the roast, too. Then again, he wouldn´t put it past Cassian to smuggle in a vegetarian minched pie just for Jizabel. 

Cassandra Gladstone, too, is surprisingly absent. It turned out he was needed at a charity event for some orphange or other, and while Jizabel wouldn´t be surprised to hear of the disappearance of a pretty orphan boy soon, that really is none of his concern. 

He beggs his leave early, fleeing before his father can get into the mood for another whipping. This night he does sleep like the dead, nightmares eluding him like they so rarely do. 

 

On christmas morning he wakes with the dawn, the pains of the previous day having almost disappeared overnight. He dresses to visit his birds, when he spots a glass vial on his desk that he is sure was not standing there before. 

Inspecting it carefully he finds it is filled with a pair of eyes, lazily bobbing in alcohol, green eyes. For a moment he panicks, thinking they are Cain´s eyes.

No, he tells himself, those can´t possibly be his brothers eyes, calm down Jizabel. He takes a deep breath and leans closer to properly examine the irisses. 

There, no gold, just green. Good.

He relaxes, someone sent him a pair of eyes, green ones. Someone made him a Christmas present, he realises and there is the hint of a smile tugging at his mouth. 

Glancing around the question of who gave him the present is answered easily enough. In fact there is a note on his desk answering it: 

-Doctor,- it reads -I know these are not the eyes that you want, but take this stand-in as a promise. I will help you to get Cain´s eyes, I swear it. 

Hoping you have a Merry Christmas, Cassian.-


End file.
